Lens

An early winter cold snap that struck much of the Middle East last week left most of Israel shivering. The snow across the length and breadth of the Jewish state closed schools and major roads, knocked down power lines, and sent Israelis scurrying for electric heaters and rarely needed cold weather clothing.

A group of 60 members of Central Synagogue in Manhattan, including the Reform congregation’s senior rabbi, Angela Buchdahl, and its assistant rabbi, Ari Lorge, visited Pantry Packers, a food packaging facility in Jerusalem, part of the Colel Chabad network of services for Israel’s poor and needy.